News

11/2/2016

Luke Hopkins: Taxes Before Cuts, and More Spending Too!

Incredibly, Luke Hopkins thinks spending more money will get Alaska out of our $4 billion budget deficit. He’s also demanding that we impose new, higher taxes on working Alaskans and Alaskan companies first before he’d consider a comprehensive budget solution. Alaska is in the red and we can’t afford Luke Hopkins. His ‘my-way-or-the-highway’ approach to governing won’t get us closer to a balanced budget and isn’t the Alaskan way to solve problems.

That’s why it is so important to re-elect John Coghill. This week’s Daily News-Miner reported that Coghill has “won the respect of Republicans and Democrats alike.” Coghill has shown he’s willing to put aside party politics to tackle our crippling deficit and do what’s right for Alaska. We need more legislators like him.

10/28/2016

Fact Check: Together for Alaska Misleads Alaskans on Oil Taxes

Robin Brena, Governor Walker’s close friend, and the puppet master for “Together for Alaska” is working hard to fool Alaskans into believing that Alaska isn’t getting its “fair share” of oil revenue by claiming (Oct. 1 & Oct. 25) that state petroleum revenues as a percentage of gross market value have historically been 33%.

These statements are both false. State Department of Revenue data shows that state petroleum revenue as a percentage of gross market value has averaged 23% since 1978. If we exclude the years ACES was in place, it was roughly 20%. These figures include royalties going to the Permanent Fund.

Brena has invested more than $60,000 in “Together for Alaska,” the group that is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars supporting state senate candidates Vince Beltrami and Luke Hopkins.

Why? Brena vehemently opposed changes to tax policy that increased investment and, in fact, donated $50,000 to return Alaska to the failed policy of ACES. He has never stopped declaring his desire to make that dream come true.

He needs legislators who will support his efforts. Beltrami and Hopkins both claim to be pro-business, pro-development candidates. Both candidates say they will listen. But who will they listen to if they are elected? The 99,000+ Alaskans who supported a change in tax structure or moneyman Robin Brena who misled Alaskans to further his cause and spent the most money to get them elected?

10/24/2016

Fact Check

Remember the old saying that if you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it to be true?

In the 2016 Alaska elections, special interests are furiously spending money to elect Luke Hopkins and Vince Beltrami. Enough money is being funneled through the Together for Alaska and other funds to repeat a lot of lies – a lot of times.

We’re monitoring this election to point out the biggest whoppers being used to deceive voters. To begin, look no further than the Together for Alaska website. They falsely claim they’re supporting candidates who “will put Alaska’s prosperityahead of partisan, political ambition.”

The problem? They’ve already spent $50,000 to elect Hopkins, who told a room full of Democrats, “I had to have a coat of non-partisan for six years but now I’m a Democrat, and I’m running with the Democrats against the leadership in the Senate.”

Before their first ad even aired, Together for Alaska failed the truth test.

10/17/2016

Follow the Money

Why is a massive amount of special interest money quietly being funneled into Alaska elections to influence a small number of selected races? The money comes from national and local labor groups, and state government workers.

10/1/2016

2016 General Election Preview

Now that the primary election is over We Are Alaska is shifting gears and turning our attention to the general election. Over the course of the next few months We Are Alaska will examine critical races at the state and federal level that could significantly impact responsible resource development in Alaska.

As was our goal during the primary, We Are Alaska will be providing pertinent information about critical issues in the election and where incumbent legislators have stood on those issues, and when available, where candidates stand.

We remain committed to identifying those individuals who grasp the significant role that responsible development of our oil, gas, and mineral resources plays in our state. Likewise, we remain committed to identifying elected officials and candidates who take stances and votes that are detrimental to Alaska’s most important industries and look to taxes on Alaskans to cover the budget gap, rather than investing in a strong private sector and reducing the size and scope of government.

The chart below provides a list of the general election races for State House and State Senate.

9/7/2016

Primary Election Candidate Comparison

We promised a candidate comparison based on the Alliance’s legislative priorities.After hours of research, we are unable to fulfill that promise for a very basic reason: Actions speak louder than words. It was easy to gauge incumbent support or opposition by their voting record. If they voted for the budget, they were opposed to our legislative priority of a sustainable budget of $4.5 billion or lower. If they voted for HB 132, an act relating to the purpose, powers and duties of the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation, they were supportive of our legislative priority to continue the progress made on AKLNG. If they voted for Amendment #20 CSHB Rules 247 that substantially changed the tax structure and removed incentives to increase production, they were opposed to our legislative priority of increasing production.Challengers were challenging. The vagueness and platitudes that most candidates tout sound good. Positions taken from statements on their websites, statements to the media or statements made in public forums lack substance and provide no insight into how they will perform as a legislator, and provide no solutions to the problems our state is facing.Challengers didn’t answer any of the following specific questions relative to the Alliance’s legislative priorities:

Will they vote for an unsustainable budget?

Do they support an AKLNG project that is driven by the private sector and market forces?

Will they support policies that spur investment and lead to increased production?

We Are Alaska will be asking candidates in the general election to answer these questions.

8/8/2016

2016 Legislative Priorities

We are one week away from the 2016 Alaska primary election. As Alaskans prepare to cast their ballots, we think it is important to remind people of some critical issues to consider. We Are Alaska, the independent expenditure group of the Alliance, fully supports the priorities established by the Alliance earlier this year. The Alliance advocated tirelessly to the Legislature and Administration to advance these priorities on behalf of its members and the tens of thousands of Alaskans they employ.

We Are Alaska is using these legislative priorities as one tool to measure the success, or failure, of elected officials during the last year. Here are the priorities:

IMPLEMENT A SUSTAINABLE LONG-RANGE FISCAL PLAN:

Reduce the budget to $4.5 billion in FY 2017 (unrestricted general funds)

Use the earnings reserves of the Permanent Fund to help fill the budget gap

CONTINUE THE PROGRESS MADE ON AK LNG:

Support the administration, AGDC and the legislature to ensure the continued advancement of the Alaska LNG project.

Maintaining oil and gas tax credits that lead to increased production of oil and gas.

*A substantive change would be anything that deters investment or jeopardizes our opportunity to increase production

We believe these priorities encompass the most important issues facing our state: fixing our fiscal crisis so a healthy economic climate exists in which business can flourish, encouraging responsible resource development, and attracting greater levels of private sector investment. We know most Alaskans agree, and encourage people to review the positions of candidates and elected officials on resource development and fiscal issues in Alaska.

In a few days, We Are Alaska will provide a list of candidates who support the legislative priorities listed above, as well as a list of those who have not supported them.

8/1/2016

Alaska Business Report Card Group Releases Grades

On Monday, the Alaska Business Report Card (ABRC) group released its grades for the 29th Alaska State Legislature.

To view the grades your Representative and Senator received click here.

The ABRC was formed in 2010 in an effort to inform the participating organizations’ member companies, who employ tens of thousands of Alaskans, on how elected officials are performing to ensure Alaska remains an attractive place for private sector investment, jobs and economic growth. The ABRC is made up of the Alaska Chamber, Alaska Support Industry Alliance, Prosperity Alaska and Resource Development Council for Alaska, Inc.

Published every two years at the conclusion of each Legislature, the report card is a tool for the collective ABRC membership to analyze individual legislators on their efforts to promote responsible resource development and provide a stable economic climate for business in Alaska.

Grades were compiled based on a broad range of legislation impacting Alaska businesses and the economy. Legislator performance was tracked at the committee level, in floor sessions, and in terms of leadership shown both inside and outside formal legislative sessions.

7/25/2016

Breakdown of 2016 Primary Races for State House and Senate

The primary election is 23 days away. We Are Alaska is committed to providing you with information about critical issues in the election and where incumbent legislators have stood on those issues, and when available, where candidates stand.

We remain committed to identifying those individuals who grasp the significant role that responsible development of our oil, gas, and mineral resources plays in our state. Likewise, we remain committed to identifying elected officials and candidates who take stances and votes that are detrimental to Alaska’s most important industries and look to taxes on Alaskans to cover the budget gap, rather than investing in a strong private sector and reducing the size and scope of government.

THIS COMMUNICATION WAS PAID FOR BY WE ARE ALASKA—3301 C STREET, SUITE 205, ANCHORAGE, AK 99503. REBECCA LOGAN, CHAIR, APPROVES THIS MESSAGE. THE SOLE CONTRIBUTOR TO WE ARE ALASKA IS THE ALASKA SUPPORT INDUSTRY ALLIANCE. THIS NOTICE TO VOTERS IS REQUIRED BY ALASKA LAW. WE CERTIFY THIS WEBSITE IS NOT AUTHORIZED, PAID FOR OR APPROVED BY ANY CANDIDATE.